


Who recruited Who, Benn Beckman?

by R_4_L



Category: One Piece
Genre: Implied Benn Beckman/Maknio relationship, implied Dracule Mihawk/Shanks shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 07:39:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17863154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_4_L/pseuds/R_4_L
Summary: So the great pirate era.  Gol D. Rogers is dead, but what happens to his crew?  We all know that Red Hair Shanks is the pirate that inspired Luffy to set sail, but how did he gather his crew?  Someone how I think Benn was behind it all.





	Who recruited Who, Benn Beckman?

Standing in the square at Loguetown and watching them execute the Captain was damn near unbearable. He clutched the hat given to him tightly to his head. He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't cry. Shanks ignored the tears running down his cheeks.

"You want my treasure. You can have it. I left everything in one place, you just have to find it! "

The marines rushed to finish the execution while the crowd cheered at the thought of treasure out on the sea. 

He set sail almost immediately, the marines were looking for anyone who had been apart of Rogers crew. Rayleigh had warned them about coming here, but both he and Buggy couldn't abandon the Captain like that. He knew exactly what the plan had been, how difficult it had been for Rayleigh and Scopper to stay far away. At least with Buggy by his side he was sure that they would keep their promise to Rayleigh and not start anything. 

"You sure you don't want to join my crew?"

"Screw off Shanks. You poser." Buggy stuck his tongue out at his former crew mate and headed off in the other direction. Shanks was too good natured, he'd want to share the treasure and damn it all Buggy wanted every berry for himself. He'd form his own crew and search on his own.

Shanks stuck around the East blue for a little bit, he needed a couple of good men. Of course he also needed a good ship. There was no way he could get one built by Tom in Water Seven, at least not right away, but someday. For now a small sloop would have to do. He was lucky enough to find one with only a small crew to defend it. Sailing the sloop into the North Blue, he found the nearest port he headed for the pub. Might as well get the lay of the land, and there was no better place to get the local gossip then the nearest watering hole. Sitting in the back corner, Shanks ate a passable meal and enjoyed a bottle of good rum.

"Do you mind if I join you?" The man standing in front of him was tall. 

Shanks shrugged as the large man sat across from him. "What is it I can do for you mister?" Shanks wasn't stupid. There was a reason he had been sought out. 

"Benn. Benn Beckman." He gave a small bow setting down his own bottle of booze.

"Shanks, but then I suppose you know that or you wouldn't have come looking for me." He assessed the man across from him. The slicked back black hair and cigarette clenched in his teeth. He had a large barrel chest and wore a black v-neck t-shirt and green pants. "I'm not sure that I've met you before, unless it's something that I've forgotten." Shanks pushed his straw hat on further back on his head.

Benn crossed one foot over the other knee. He leaned back in his chair, resting his arm on the back of the chair beside him. "We never actually met. I watched you fight, at the time I debated trying to join Roger's crew when you all disappeared. Sailed around for a bit before I came back home."

Shanks smiled, "well isn't that interesting. So do you have any plans right now?" 

"See if I can join your crew." Beckman knew it was a risk asking to join a crew. He was an unknown, Shanks had no idea what his skills were or if he could be of any help.

"And who's saying I'm looking to add to my crew?" No sense in giving away any more information then he needed to at the moment.

The smoke from the cigarette obscured the tall man's face for just a moment. The silence was tense, but Benn was determined. "I don't know if you are looking to add to your crew, but I'm looking to join it. I admired the way you fought when you part of Roger's Pirates and nothing I've heard about you since had changed my mind."

Shanks grinned. "Fine, if you want to join, join. We leave first thing in the morning."

Beckman made it down to the dock as the sun was just rising over the horizon. There in a dingy was a sleeping man with a straw hat covering his face, his red hair the only thing that identifying him.

"Well you ready to go?" The hat moved enough for one eye to peer out from behind it.

"On your orders."

Shanks laughed, "best not be to formal. That will certainly get old fast. Well climb in, we'll head out to the ship and see which way the seas take us." They were part way out to the ship when Benn asked about the rest of Shank's crew. The laughter shocked him, "who says I have a crew?"

Benn's jaw just dropped. Did he just through his hat in with a man with no crew? How could he have been fooled so easily? He looked up at the sky, his mind going through every thing he knew about Red-Haired Shanks. Had he made a mistake? The smile that crept across his lips was a sly one, "in that case, we had better find ourselves a good crew Captain. We can't be expected to take over the world with just the two of us."

The two of them sailed to different islands. Shanks respected the way Benn's brain worked. The man was simply brilliant. Benn couldn't help but admire the way Shanks seemed to be able to let everything slide off his back. Their crew was growing and it was time to find a larger boat. 

It was in a bar fight that they meet Lucky Roo. Benn had pointed the guy out. It seemed that the captain was impressed with his fighting style and soon asked him to join the crew. The guy was always eating, but damn he was a good shot. 

"Well Benn what do you think?" Shanks leaned his back against the railing. "Do we have a chance?"

Benn rested his arms on the rail beside his Captain, puffing away on his cigarette. "It all depends Captain, do you want to take Roger's place?"

The red haired man threw his head back and laughed, "nah I've already seen that, and I don't have so lofty plans. I just want to sail the seas." He cocked his head and looked over at the man who was his first mate, "is that okay with you?"

Benn just puffed away on his cigarette. "I have no qualms with your goals, I just want to make sure that I understand them."

Lucky Roo stood off to one side. The man was ridiculously quiet for such a large size. He listened as Benn threw out another bit information to tempt his Captain. "There's a rumor Captain, of a sniper on an island not far from here. He's said to be looking for a a good man to follow."

"So should we go and recruit this guy?" Shanks smiled they were close to a island and running short on supplies. "I'll leave the reload to you two and I'll go see a sniper."

Lucky Roo smirked, "he has no idea you're working him does he?"

Benn just glared at the large man as they walked up the quay for provisions. 

The small dingy sailed around the coast searching for the man he was told was looking out to the sea. 

"So you want to join me for an adventure?" Shanks threw a bottle of sake at the man sitting on the cliff. "I'm Shanks."

"Shanks, I'm Yasopp and why would I want to join you for an adventure?"

Shanks just laughed. He spent the rest of the day drinking and talking to the sniper. Meeting Yasopp's wife was something else. His son was in a bassinet by the table.

"You'll come back every once in a while won't you?" Banchina stood at the sink staring out the kitchen window, their son asleep behind her. She had always known that Yasopp wasn't happy here. It had nothing to do with her or Usopp, but it was something deep inside of him that called to him.

Yasopp wrapped his arms around the only woman was had been brave enough to marry him, even when everyone in the village had warned her away from him. "If fortune favors us and the Captain is willing, I will come back."

Shanks felt bad breaking up a young family, but he had spent hours talking to the sniper. He knew when a man suffered from wanderlust and when he was just trying to find an excuse to leave the woman in his life. Yasopp was absolutely a man with wanderlust in his veins.

"I will do everything in my power to make sure that you always know how Yasopp is doing and while we may not be able to visit as often as he'd like, nor we'll will always be able to tell you where we are know that is to keep you and your son as safe as possible." Shanks watched the way the young boy slept. 

They stuck around between the East and South Blue for a bit and battling other pirates and exploring the area. Shanks managed to find himself a rival to battle against. A up and coming young swordsman testing his skills against the red haired Captain was a sight to see. 

"I have found no one to test my skills the way you do Red Hair." The black sword cut the air and clashed against the it's opponent.

Shanks laughed, "well I'm glad to at least provide you with some entertainment."

"You do at that, sir." Mihawk took another swing and the swords met again.

With a might push and a move too quick to follow Shanks unarmed the other man. "I guess that means we're done for tonight. Huh, first time I've won in a while. I've got some sake if you want to join me?"

It wasn't the first time the pirate had invited the swordsman to join him at the campfire, and it never failed to amaze the man. 

The next island they stopped at had a wonderful bar. "Makino dear, I would love another drink." Shanks held out his glass as the bartender and owner walked by.

The dark haired beauty just smiled as she passed the table.

"You know Benn, maybe you should give her a hand." Shanks nudged his first mate and smiled at the way his first mate blushed. Lucky Roo and Yasopp laughed as they finished their meal.

Benn just stubbed out his cigarette as he stood and moved to the bar. He ignored the laughter of his crew mates as he did his best to woo the beautiful woman who ran the place. Benn smirked as he rolled over the next morning. His Captain had been a surprisingly good wingman. Finding out that the young bar owner was raising a young child on her own wasn't all that unusual, but she hadn't wanted to do anything with the child in the house. Beckman's first instinct had been to ask Yasopp for help as the guy was a father, but it was Shanks who had come to the rescue. Shanks who had taken the child back to the ship to look after him.

"Ahh Luffy let's get you something to eat." Shanks held the baby in his arms as walked around the galley. "Well I don't have a bottle so I don't how we're going to feed you anything, but I can tell you stories. Let me tell you about my Captain. Gol D Roger loved being a pirate....."

It became a bit of routine whenever they landed by Foosha Village Shanks would take care of Luffy, the young child that Makino was fostering so Benn could spend some time with his lady love. Shanks also made enough of a show of things so as to keep the attention off of Makino and protect her reputation.

It became a joke between Benn and Shanks. Shanks would tease his first mate about what a great barkeep he would make and Benn would bug the Captain about the flamboyant swordsman they often ran into.

"Shanks, looks like your date is here." Benn yelled from the look out.

The Captain came out on deck to watch the man approach. "Mihawk!" He yelled, "It's been so long since we fought. Are you here to challenge me again? I can meet you on the island there." He pointed to an island just south of their current location. He jumped into Miwkawk's boat and the two sailed off to the island alone.

"Is the Captain really going to fight that guy? Shouldn't we go and back him up?" Hoshrio was new to the crew and Lucky Roo just put a hand on the kids shoulder.

"No, this is more like a friendly competition between two great swordsmen." Beckman often thought it strange that both he and Lucky Roo along with a good half of the crew relied on their flintlocks while the Captain preferred his sword as a weapon. It increased the cost of supplies for the ship but he never complained about how many of the crew chose guns over swords. What he had demand was that everyone had a secondary method of fighting. "Mihawk is looking to be the greatest swordsman in the world and it's only the fact that he had lost multiple time to the Captain that has him so determined. Mihawk won't kill him."

On the island the sword fight raged, Mihawk was precise in his movements while Shanks was more carefree. Shanks collapsed under a tree to catch his breath. "Looks like you got me this time." He pulled his white shirt off and examined the cut to his chest. It wasn't deep and wouldn't need stitches, but it was a sure sign that Mihawk was getting stronger and faster. "I'm really going to have to start putting some thought in our next fight." He smirked up at the dark haired man.

Mihawk leaned his blade against the tree and pulled out the pot of ointment he had. "May I?" He nodded towards his chest and Shanks shrugged. Spreading the lotion on the wound had both men breathing harder then the situation warranted. The mustached swordsman let his eye wander over his opponents form. He noticed every new scar, like the three that bisected his right eye. They didn't seem deep, nor did they seem to impede his vision in any way but when asked about them the mood darkened. 

"Hawkeye, I'd rather not talk about that bastard. I do have to tell you about this kid I met. I tell you he has the most amazing spirit." Shanks of course knew Luffy's full name and he had a good idea of just what it meant. He told stories of the things that Luffy had done, sounding more and more like a proud father.

"Are you sure that he's not your child?" Mihawk was amazed he'd never seen anyone so taken with someone else's kid.

Shanks just laughed, "no I just don't want his spirit to be crushed. He won't be facing you though, the boy is a brawler, tried showing him how to hold a sword and he's got no interest."

Mihawk smiled, "I'm sure we'll both find protégés along the way." Looking up at the setting sun he stood, he'd best be on his way, "This may be our last challenge in a while. I'm heading for the grand line soon."

"Fair winds to you Dracule, may you find the challenger you are looking for." Shanks waved him off from the deck of ship and watched him sail away. 

No one said anything when the Captain pulled out the sake that night. Benn set up watch and the gathered Yasopp and Lucky Roo and the four of them joined their Captain as he drank and said his own goodbye to a cherished friend.

It was on a trip to Foosha that Shanks and the crew were assaulted by a group of mountain bandits. Shanks just laughed it off, but Luffy got angry. It was Benn who explained how Shanks thought. Of course it didn't really help his case when Shanks started teasing Luffy. Luffy got the last laugh on them. The moronic kid ate the devil fruit the had found were planning on selling on the black market. While they were packing up they heard from one of the villagers of Luffy taking on the mountain bandits to protect their honor. Lucky Roo took out one of the bandits, and Benn helped with the rest. It was Shanks who dove into the sea to save Luffy from drowning and the Sea King.

"Luffy don't cry, your a man now." Shanks held the boy's body tight to his chest. This child meant so much to him.

"But Shanks your arm."

"It's just an arm, I have another." Shanks stayed where he was at. His crew was coming to get him. There was no way he could swim back to land just yet.

It was Yasopp who took Luffy back to the village, telling him tales of his own son on Gecko Island and how the two of them would be great friends.

Benn held his Captain as Shanks used his Haki to staunch the blood flow. "Now," with barely another word and only the tightening of his teeth agains the stub of his cigarette, Benn got down to the business of cauterizing the stump and stitching closed the flesh. Shanks didn't scream, he didn't move. The crew watched and knew that they would follow this man where ever he would lead. 

Lucky Roo came in as Benn was finishing up bandaging the arm with a mug of ale. "Here Captain." Shanks drank it in one go, not suspecting that his core crew would drug him. As soon as he was out Roo explained, "He should sleep for at least 48 hours if we're lucky, but know the Captain it will be closer to 24."

The large man sat on the floor his back to the wall, pistol on his lap as watched both the Captain sleep and the door. "Go wash Benn, then go to town. Tell Makino what happened and reassure Luffy. We won't leave until you say so and the Captain is awake."

It was closer to a week before Shanks felt ready to leave. The ship was stocked and he was healed enough that he could move without a lot of pain. There were reports of heavy Marine activity in the area so it was time to make themselves scarce. Luffy meet them at the docks and this time he wasn't demanding to come along.

Luffy stood on the steps of the pier, Shanks had been teasing him again. "I'm going to become a Pirate all on my own. You'll see." the Red Haired pirates stopped to listen. It was seeing the way Benn Beckman nodded that gave Luffy the courage to continue, "I'll get a crew that's even stronger then yours, and I'll become the King of the Pirates."

Shanks walked back towards the rubber boy, his black cloak hiding the fact that he was now missing an arm, "King of the Pirates eh? Strong enough to beat us?" He took his straw hat and placed it on the rubber boys head, " Well when you do become a pirate, come and find me. That hat's very special to me so take care of it until we met again Luffy." Shanks jumped on his ship, this was likely the last time they would see this island and the crew knew it. They were headed for the New World too. 

Their sail caught the wind and they were off. Benn had said his goodbyes to Makino last night. It had been then he had found out who Luffy's grandfather was, he'd tell Shanks later, once they were safely away from the island. Maybe.

"Yasopp, a stop by Geko Island?" It was the Captain's way of giving his crew a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, they wouldn't be back for a long time. He would make sure that every member of the crew had that chance if they wanted it.

"I'm good, got a letter just this week," Yasopp cherished each letter he received from Banchina letting him know that all was well. He had no way of knowing that she had pre-arranged their deliveries when she had found out that she was dying. Usopp would be taken care of, and Yasopp would live out his dream.

Shanks nodded, hand on his sword, eyes to North, "Let's go men adventure awaits."


End file.
